History Main / FrictionlessIce

* In the TurboGrafx16 version of ''[[VideoGame/MontyMole Impossamole]]'', the second level of the SlippySlideyIceWorld has frictionless ice sections.

* The ''SpyroTheDragon'' series had a variation of this trope; while stepping on ice only hinders the titular character's movements, that also includes ''jumping'', which is virtually impossible until you get on non-icy surfaces. The ice in ''[[VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail A Hero's Tail]]'', the first game in the series to give Spyro a DoubleJump, allows you to jump once but not twice.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ice_path.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:No, you can't just walk straight through. Where's the fun in that?]]

-->--'''Elder Xelpud''', ''VideoGame/LaMulana''

* Later sequels of ''Videogame/{{Quadrax}} have friction-less blocks, though they may or may not be made from ice.

A StockVideoGamePuzzle. Ice is not merely slippery; it's a physics-defying miracle lubricant that renders characters unable to make the slightest change in direction until the inevitable collision with an obstacle or wall, or in more malevolent circumstances, until the character is sent hurtling down a [[BottomlessPits bottomless pit]]. So much as a single step of forward momentum is enough to send the character, [[BlockPuzzle puzzle block]], or otherwise significant object sliding three screens in that direction. Of course, [[InvisibleGrid there is no diagonal]].

* Three of the puzzles in ''ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'' are based around this concept, where you have to get from point A to point B.

** In WarioLand games in general, this is the entire point of Frozen Wario. When he gets frozen, he flies backwards like on this type of ice until he hits a wall. It's usually used to bypass spikes and obstacles, since he's invincible when frozen and enemies die on contact, but it's also used as an annoyance in the ice levels.

* While not restricted to ice, low friction is one of the most irritating terrain effects in ''PhantomBrave''. It makes positioning characters very difficult and can easily result in someone falling off the map. On the other hand, attacks that move the character into position for you ignore this entirely. It is also possible to abuse this by only moving your characters a little bit at a time, allowing you to reach the other end of the map in one turn.

* {{VideoGame/Undertale}} has a few puzzles using this. Unusually, they allow diagonal movement (though it is much easier to solve said puzzles by sticking to the orthogonal directions).

* ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} 64: The Second Attack!'' has at least one battle arena which is notorious for this, yet appears far more sci-fi than a SlippySlideyIceWorld. It's just one reason why Survival Challenge Level 4 is ThatOneLevel. Even worse, your inertia ''still applies even after hitting a wall or object'', which means you have to cancel THAT out before you can run away from that bomb right next to you! Can you say ScrappyLevel?

* ''VideoGame/Undertale'' has a few puzzles using this. Unusually, they allow diagonal movement (though it is much easier to solve said puzzles by sticking to the orthogonal directions).

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* ''RuneScape'' had a cavern filled with these puzzles as part of a Christmas quest.

* Beneficial to the savvy player in Korean golf MMO ''{{Pangya}}'': on certain courses, there are lengthy ramps of frictionless ice which players can use to generate ridiculous amounts of Pang Points (on tee shots, every yard the ball rolls over your maximum drive earns 1 point of Over Drive; if you use a power shot, hit your maximum power, AND hit Pangya, you get the Super Pangya bonus which ''doubles'' this.) For this reason, Ice Cannon and Ice Spa are very popular courses for pang-farming; even novice players can earn over 1500 pang points in a round.

A StockVideoGamePuzzle. In a SlippySlideyIceWorld, the hero traverses the [[UndergroundLevel inevitable arctic cave]] to pass through the [[DeathMountain Mountains of Freezing Doom]]. Snow crunching under his boots, he arrives at the edge of a pond, thoroughly frozen over and surrounded by high walls, save for a single exit point on the other side, one step to the left and straight across. With a careful step, he plants his boot on the ice - and immediately goes flying to the other end of the pond. As he hits the opposing wall and notices the various rocky protrusions, a realization grips him.

Ice has absolutely no friction. And neither does air.

When this trope is invoked, ice is not merely slippery; it's a physics-defying miracle lubricant that renders characters unable to make the slightest change in direction until the inevitable collision with an obstacle or wall, or in more malevolent circumstances, until the character is sent hurtling down a [[BottomlessPits bottomless pit]]. So much as a single step of forward momentum is enough to send the character, [[BlockPuzzle puzzle block]], or otherwise significant object sliding three screens in that direction. Of course, [[InvisibleGrid there is no diagonal]].

*** Then again, Zol stones are literal GreenRocks which float in midair and can support the weight of a human when placed in an air current.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' in the Cosmo Canyon cave where some sort of slippery substance (looks like grease?) exists, but only if you run on it. If you walk instead, the areas provide no obstacle.

* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' plays with it, as during the only SlippySlidyIceWorld level, the ice is only frictionless if you walk or run too fast, if you do that it plays straight for a few seconds.

* The ''SpyroTheDragon'' series had a variation of this trope; while stepping on ice only hinders the titular character's movements, that also includes ''jumping'', which is virtually impossible until you get on non-icy surfaces.

* ''[[LegacyOfKain Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain]]'', Oracle caves. Frictionless ice combined with obstacles that give a recoil effect upon contact along with an obligatory "being hit" noise. You can [[HilarityEnsues pinball Kain through a short corridor by luck.]]

* Due to an engine trick that can make a [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence Frictionless Hill]] flat, some users of ''[[Franchise/TombRaider Tomb Raider Level Editor]]'' texture it as a patch of ice and then recreate this puzzle. At least Lara can still jump while sliding on it.

** The puzzles return in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. Of course, the designers weren't exactly used to the player being allowed diagonal movement yet, so you can shorten a few of them dramatically by walking at an angle.

* Beneficial to the savvy player in Korean golf MMO ''{{Pangya}}'': on certain courses, there are lengthy ramps of FrictionlessIce which players can use to generate ridiculous amounts of Pang Points (on tee shots, every yard the ball rolls over your maximum drive earns 1 point of Over Drive; if you use a power shot, hit your maximum power, AND hit Pangya, you get the Super Pangya bonus which ''doubles'' this.) For this reason, Ice Cannon and Ice Spa are very popular courses for pang-farming; even novice players can earn over 1500 pang points in a round.

* Some tracks in the ''VideoGame/{{F-Zero}}'' series have this.

* ''SoulBlazer'' is another game that has this effect. You can cancel the effect by wearing the Mushroom Shoes given to you by a kid you've rescued.

* FrictionlessIce makes for the majority of the Waterworks network in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''. Also, in later games in the series, ice panels may appear in battle which cause the slippery-slide effect.

* In ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld II'', one of the alternate dimensions had large sections of ice that reduced all control and was pretty much a luck-based maneuvering game. You had virtually no control though you could jump in place to reset your momentum (only worked sometimes). If you crashed into the walls at too high a speed, you took damage. In fact, the hint booklet you could buy for the game literally referred to it as FrictionlessIce.

* ''VideoGame/SweetHome'' has FrictionlessIce for some reason but also provides a Pick item that you can use to stabilize your party when they walk over it; otherwise, they'll break party rank and slide across the room helplessly until they reach a damage field depicted by corpses. The Pick, though, was originally used to solve a water puzzle that behaved exactly like the FrictionlessIce. You can also use the Pick to wade through lava safety, another situation just like the water and ice. Yeah.

* Level 10 of the web game ''[[http://www.nitrome.com/games/skyserpents/ Sky Serpents]]'' is a colossus made entirely out of ice (except its weak points) so when the character hits one of its spikes they're sent flying off the creature if there's nothing behind them to stop them.